The present invention relates to a holder for securing in place portable cylindrical compressed gas tanks, such as the type used in medical or scuba diving applications for example.
Scuba divers, as they are being transported to a dive site (usually by boat) typically do not wear their air tanks, as they are heavy and cumbersome out of water. It is undesirable for the tanks to be able to roll around on the boat's deck, as they can become damaged and pose a hazard. For that reason, some boats are equipped with scuba tank holders affixed to the boat hull, which can safely secure the scuba tanks in place (e.g., see U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,701). However, since not all boats are so equipped, a diver cannot always be confident that his or her tanks will be safely secured during transport to a dive site.
Moreover, known scuba tank holders are typically secured to a boat hull by means of screws or bolts disposed in holes formed in the hull. The forming of holes in a boat hull is generally undesirable for aesthetic reasons, and it may be impractical to do so in the case of single-wall hulls, since the holes could result in water leakage.
Therefore, it would be desirable for a scuba diver to be able to safely secure scuba tanks in a boat regardless of whether the boat comes equipped with a tank holder.
It would also be desirable to enable any facility, such as a hospital, to be able to permanently or temporarily secure gas tanks at desired locations.